Comments on: Could Burning Man replace religion? For real?http://journal.burningman.org/2012/10/philosophical-center/spirituality/burning-religion-christianity/
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 00:07:14 +0000hourly1By: Antone Dachhttp://journal.burningman.org/2012/10/philosophical-center/spirituality/burning-religion-christianity/#comment-492191
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]]>By: Matoka Malingahttp://journal.burningman.org/2012/10/philosophical-center/spirituality/burning-religion-christianity/#comment-277803
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 08:06:19 +0000http://blog.burningman.com/?p=22008#comment-277803You said: “Burning” is a verb, not a noun, let alone a philosophy. I thought it was an adjective.
I should hope it’s not a religion; dat’s duppy shit. All religion was started by satang anyway cept possibly da jews cos they was worshippin already before he became satang. Wot da petty religionist need to realise is creation did not happen cos some narrow minded being of low-mentality required a horde of worshippers. Worship is definitely (by definition it’s an act of fear not love eg supplication) da constitutive act of satang. Existentially we are survival constructs built by our genes over years of evolutionary benchmarking. Only when they gave us bi-hemispherical brains did we become aware of ourselves. I am not really Matoka – I jus think I am. Conversely I am not really a separate individual from any of da rest of you or even from da desert plain(?) upon which you burn da man. Where is BRC anyway? loveLOVE

It is a common misconception that all our woes have been caused by religion. In fact all those things you speak of are really about those in power using religion for control of resources and the retention of power and wealth. Religion has given us figures like Gandhi, Martin Luther king, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, etc. Some of the history’s most beautiful concepts of tolerance and acceptance have their roots in religion. Religion is a vital source for good when not wielded for cynical means. Dogmas and doctrines are fairly useless, but every act of creativity is inherently religious because it is an attempt to comprehend the abstract.

I’ve spent some time recently thinking about wether Burning Man could be considered a cult. One of my good friends, when asked by me if he was going this year, replied. “I always go. It’s my religion.” I’ve also read the posts by a few Christians about the “satanic” rituals. I’ve personally experienced Burning Man only once so far. I’ll throw out a few thoughts that come to mind:

1. A cult is just what large religions call small ones.

2. Burning man meets some of the definitions of a religion or cult but lacks a very major one – rather than telling you what you should or should not do, it tells you to do what you want to do. In that respect, a typical corporate office, where everyone dresses in suits or slacks, is more cultish than Burning Man. Burning Man is in that respect the anti-cult.

3. I was amazed that at Burning Man I found the desire and willingness to help your fellow man present in a way that all religions strive for but none seem to achieve.

4. I finally figured out how to explain the Man Burn itself. It’s not a religious ritual. It’s the dropping of the ball on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Nothing more and nothing less. You want to be there to be part of it. It’s just a symbol of itself. (On the other hand, I found the Temple Burn very emotional, having lost a relative 9 days prior, and written a memorial to him on the Temple).

5. Most of the press sensationalizes the “nudity and drug use”. Of course anyone who has actually been there would probably estimate that 1% of people are nude, and that drug use is far less prevalent than alcohol use. On the other hand, at your neighborhood bar alcohol use is typiclly close to 100%.

]]>By: Peacehttp://journal.burningman.org/2012/10/philosophical-center/spirituality/burning-religion-christianity/#comment-68641
Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:41:25 +0000http://blog.burningman.com/?p=22008#comment-68641In “Variety of Religious Experience” William James speaks of primal religion (the connections we feel inside without understanding their origin) and second hand religion (what we are told about from others). All experiences are religious in the sense that all experiences reveal ourselves and expose our connections to the extent we seek to know them. Burning Man is every day experience on steroids and is therefore a more intense religious experience than daily life. Even the most ardent atheist is going to have a religious experience at Burning Man, unless he or she is hopelessly jaded. Burning Man will never replace everyday big “R” religion, because that is just a structure to form a society around and has nothing to do with actual understanding of “The Thing”. What Burning Man provides is a long-term living koan, which trips the mind out of everyday thought and creates space for ecstatic experience.

]]>By: Cheese Simonhttp://journal.burningman.org/2012/10/philosophical-center/spirituality/burning-religion-christianity/#comment-68629
Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:37:53 +0000http://blog.burningman.com/?p=22008#comment-68629Fascinating thoughts, as always CM.
As an atheist (it’s not something that one should need to apologise for, by the way!) and advocate of not needing religion, I do find Burning Man (both event and principles) to be the closest thing I’d want to any religion or religous experiences.
I don’t think it matters what religion or lack-of that you have, The Temple and the way that has evolved has the power to affect people (me, certainly) in a way that no other temple or religious place I’ve been too (and that’s a lot, all over the world).
I found the BBC video piece (part of a world tour of religous places) that showed the correspondent at Burning Man and specifically the Temple to be very true.
From 1:28 in:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok-eguBjqhs